Jevon Kearse

The Philadelphia Eagles spent a week worrying about protecting quarterback Donovan McNabb from Tennessee Titans defensive ends Kevin Carter and Jevon Kearse. Somebody named Carlos Hall proved to be a bigger threat. Hall, a rookie out of Arkansas, entered the game after Kearse suffered a fractured foot on the game's second play. Hall finished with four solo tackles, three assists and, most significantly, three sacks of McNabb. The three sacks tie the NFL record for sacks in a rookie debut.

Jim Washburn, the longtime defensive line coach of the Tennessee Titans, has been hired for the same job by the Philadelphia Eagles. Washburn emerged as a candidate last week, after it was revealed that the Eagles also had fired defensive line coach Rory Segrest along with defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. As Titans defensive line coach since 1999, Washburn has been instrumental in the development of stars such as Jevon Kearse, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Albert Haynesworth.

As the Eagles' loss in St. Louis was winding down two weeks ago, defensive end Jevon Kearse -- a spectator that night as part of Andy Reid's save-the-ammunition strategy -- removed the baseball cap he had been wearing and tossed it into the stands. Then the fun began. Two male fans -- one wearing a blue shirt, one wearing a black jacket and neither any older than 40 -- began wrestling for the prize. Just launched into a fierce tug-of-war that left both men cursing and the cap misshapen.

MINOR MISTAKE Before Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was activated from the disabled list recently, he spent three days in the minors on a rehab assignment. While there, the reigning National League MVP was somewhat of a celebrity, though one minor league player in the New York Yankees organization showed he really wasn't a big fan. "One catcher didn't know who I was," Rollins said. "He said, "They let you wear Rollins' jersey?' I said, "Yeah, they say I look like him.' " ANTICIPATED RESPONSE As Manny Ramirez approaches the 500-home run mark, the Boston Red Sox are putting together a series of videotaped congratulatory messages to be played at Fenway Park when Ramirez finally reaches the milestone.

The Philadelphia Eagles took defensive end Jevon Kearse and their three other veteran free-agent acquisitions of this offseason on a tour of the City of Brotherly Love on Wednesday. Independence Hall. Both Pat's and Geno's for cheesesteaks. The steps of the art museum. The firehouse that is home to Engine 1 and Ladder 5. An ACME supermarket. Ten minutes here, 15 minutes there. Seemingly every Philly institution except for Delilah's strip club. This was a significant tour, for Kearse already had gone on record expressing shock over how "rude" the average Delaware Valleyan had been in his initial dealings with them.

The New York Giants signed Kurt Warner, the Dallas Cowboys signed Vinny Testaverde, and the Washington Redskins said good riddance to Jeremiah Trotter. It's expected the Tennessee Titans will part with Eddie George, who reportedly has told people he would like to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. Ah, yes, the Eagles. After a winter that included the acquisitions of Terrell Owens and Jevon Kearse, all they've done in recent weeks is sign one-time All-Pro quarterback Jeff Blake as insurance in case Donovan McNabb gets hurt or they don't see the right things from Koy Detmer.

It's his arms, Jon Ritchie said. That's a big part of the problem Jevon Kearse presents. No, it's his feet, Jon Runyan said. Both men are right about the Eagles' new defensive end. And not only that, but he possesses a sprinter's first step, two-megaton explosiveness and such a reservoir of want-to that he is renowned for chasing down even the swiftest running backs and wide receivers in the open field. But let's talk about those arms -- not so much their strength (which is considerable)

The Eagles' defensive linemen were autographing copies of a group photo so they would have mementos of their time together when Trent Cole saw reporters wanted to talk to fellow defensive end Jevon "The Freak" Kearse. ""The Freak Show' starts in a few seconds; please, be patient!" a laughing Cole said. What Cole didn't add was that this might have been one of the last episodes of "The Freak Show" to be recorded in South Philly. "The last game is Sunday, then we have the one-on-one interviews with coach [Andy]

Corey Simon is a pretty good dancer for a 6-2, 293-pound man. Just ask the offensive linemen he has freed himself from en route to 261/2 sacks over 62 regular-season NFL games. But the Philadelphia Eagles' All-Pro defensive tackle will not do the verbal equivalent of a dance when the subject is Super Bowl XXXIX and the Eagles' chances of getting to it. "I'm going to say it," Simon said. "Some people might not want to hear it, but it's a Super Bowl or bust for us. We've been too close too many times.

There are freak injuries, and then there are "The Freak's" injuries. The Philadelphia Eagles and several thousand of their fans were scared by one of the latter Monday in training camp at Lehigh University. Jevon "The Freak" Kearse, the defensive end who was the Eagles' first big-name acquisition of this offseason, twisted his left ankle while pivoting in an attempt to get around offensive tackle Dante Ellington, who spent last season on the practice squad. "It concerned me [Monday]

The Eagles' defensive linemen were autographing copies of a group photo so they would have mementos of their time together when Trent Cole saw reporters wanted to talk to fellow defensive end Jevon "The Freak" Kearse. ""The Freak Show' starts in a few seconds; please, be patient!" a laughing Cole said. What Cole didn't add was that this might have been one of the last episodes of "The Freak Show" to be recorded in South Philly. "The last game is Sunday, then we have the one-on-one interviews with coach [Andy]

Veteran defensive end Jevon Kearse is back in the Eagles' plans. Seeking to put some energy back into a pass rush that has produced just one sack in the last three games after averaging 3.4 in the first seven, defensive coordinator Jim Johnson said Thursday that Kearse will be active Sunday when Philadelphia (5-5) visits New England (10-0). Kearse had 31/2 sacks through the Eagles' first seven games, but after failing to get a sack in back-to-back games and losing his starting left defensive end role to Juqua Thomas, Kearse was designated inactive last week.

KEARSE INACTIVE In what many will interpret as a signal that the end of Jevon Kearse's employment with the Eagles is near, the veteran was on Philadelphia's inactive list Sunday after dropping behind rookie second-round pick Victor Abiamiri to fifth in the pool of defensive ends. The big plays turned in by Juqua Thomas, who has moved into the starting lineup, also could not have helped Kearse's chances of a future in Philadelphia. But there is evidence that the Eagles could give Kearse the benefit of the doubt: for the second time in three days, coach Andy Reid went out of his way to point out that Kearse -- who is in the fourth season of the eight-year, $65 million contract he signed as a free agent in 2004 -- has been slow to recover from the season-ending knee surgery he went after Week 2 of last season.

Eagles linebacker Takeo Spikes was around enough bad attitudes while experiencing eight losing seasons in nine years in Cincinnati and Buffalo to know what often happens when high-paid veteran starters find themselves benched. "Guys go into a shell," Spikes said. "Then, when they get an opportunity to play, they'll make mistakes. And when they do, that compounds the mistake the guy next to them makes. I saw that a lot in Cincinnati; a lot of guys who didn't care. But these two guys have handled it well."

Trent Cole is, as it happens, a hunter. And so serious about it that when the Eagles defensive end was in high school, he used to walk into Saturday-morning film sessions wearing camouflage and greasepaint, having been out in the woods since daybreak, stalking prey. They called him The Deerslayer back then, at least when they weren't referring to him as The Freak, for on-field abilities so unusual that his coaches believed he was an NFL player-in-waiting, long before he did. Now his cubicle in the Birds' practice facility is right next to the one occupied by the original Freak, Jevon Kearse.

There is relatively little evidence of them on the stat sheet so far, but have no fear, Reggie Brown and Jevon Kearse are here. That's the message Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and defensive coordinator Jim Johnson tried to convey Thursday when queried about why Brown and Kearse are off to slow starts. Brown, who had 46 catches in the regular season and 10 more in two playoff games last season, has just five catches so far, including two in last Sunday's 56-21 victory over Detroit.

Brian Dawkins didn't want to make a big deal Wednesday out of the pep talk he delivered the previous evening, but his teammates on the Philadelphia Eagles defense did. They said the longest-serving Eagle -- the longest-serving active athlete on any Philadelphia pro team -- preceded defensive coordinator Jim Johnson's first big Xs and Os talk of training camp at Lehigh University with a five-minute commentary. "Dawk stood up and said the fact is the reason last season ended [in an NFC semifinal playoff loss at New Orleans]

Did the Eagles' glass wind up half-full? Sure, running back Correll Buckhalter said. "Coming from a 6-10 season and making it to the second round [of the playoffs] this season, it's a plus," he said, in the wake of Saturday night's season-ending loss to the Saints. Or did the glass wind up half-empty? Absolutely, said running back Brian Westbrook. "We've got to learn how to finish the season right," he said. They're both right. But it would be more accurate to view this season as a success.